one word for the year...

As I said in this post, I typically evaluate my life and set goals around my birthday.  However, this year, the last few months of the year seemed busier than normal and I didn't get a good start on those goals I outlined.  So I decided to dust them off at the new year and refocus on them.  I'm looking forward to not just achieving my goals but crushing them this year.  In order to do this, I need a concrete way to focus on my goals.  One way for me to focus is to pick one word for the year.

I first encountered the practice of picking one word for the year in 2010 from Ali Edwards blog.  She has an amazing blog devoted to scrapbooking and story telling.  The idea behind picking one word for the year, is that you will focus on that particular word as it relates to your life.  The process of focusing yourself daily on this word allows you to grow, learn and change.

I have picked a word over the years with varying degrees of success.  I tend to start off strong and then something else gets my attention and I don't finish with the same intensity I started with.  Which actually, if I were to be completely transparent, is true for most things in my life.  This is especially problematic when I get all gung ho about organizing my closet and take everything out, only to decide I'm too tired to finish and my bedroom looks like my closet threw up (sorry, sweetie!  I promise I'll shove it all back in there finish it before you get home from work.). Some of my past words were intentional, purpose, present (as in being present not accepting gifts) and simplify.

This year, Mark got an email from one of the 'success guys' he gets business emails from and in it this guy mentioned picking one word for the year.  Mark thought that was a great idea and suggested that we all pick a word for the year, even the boys.

So we talked to them about this concept and asked them to think about what they wanted to focus on for the year.  I'm not sure how much intention went into their word choices, because they picked them pretty quickly.  

Luke picked KIND.  He said so he would remember to always be kind to others this year.  This one will not be that much of stretch for Luke since he is truly kind hearted but it is a good place for him to start this practice.

John picked RESPECT.  He said it was because he wanted to focus on respecting those in authority.  We discussed that everyone deserves respect not just those who are teachers or parents or others in obvious positions of authority.  John said that he was happy then that he picked respect, so he could spend the year giving everyone respect.

We picked EAT for Grace.  This is going to be a big year of growth for Grace.  We are determined and have a plan in place to get Grace to reach her eating and feeding goals.  This year, our little girl is going learn to eat solid food, drink liquids and feed herself.  This one is so big it deserves it's own post, so look for that in the next few weeks.

Mark picked DISCIPLINE.  He wants to be focused in all areas of his life but particularly business.  To this end, he has made daily and weekly goals for calls and orders for Formula II.

I picked ORDER.  After writing this blog series on order, I've been spending a lot of time thinking about balance and order.  I decided that even though I wrote that series, I would still like to spend this year focusing on ordering my daily life and our home.  I think that these are two areas that I tend to go either over ordered or not ordered enough, so I'm looking forward to daily remembering to focus on order.

I've set specific goals within the categories of myself and my home where I want to find more order and balance.  One of first goals for me relates to fitness and health.  I've had some minor, nagging pains or injuries that prevented me from working out consistently in 2014.  Running has always been my therapy but it's just not possible right now.  Partly because of some knee issues I have and partly because it is 9 (NINE!) degrees outside as I type this post.  One thing I know about myself is that in order to work out more consistently, I need accountability.  So I signed up for this 21 day superhero challenge.  Today is day 4 and I'm loving the meal plans, work outs and general health information from Emily. 

We'd like to have family meetings once a month where we can all report how we are doing focusing on our word for the year.  I'm thinking I need to make up signs or something so the words are front and center in our home as a reminder.  We think it will make it easier for all of us to stay focused on our word of the year if we are doing this as a family instead of doing it on our own.

And because a post without a picture isn't really a blog post for me, here is a family picture from last week.  Along with 20,000 other people, we went to our favorite gardens with my parents to see the Christmas displays.  I decided I wanted a family picture in front of this tree.  So we asked my dad to take the picture with my new phone.  He wasn't sure he was doing it right so John (who's 10 and doesn't actually have a phone) stepped out of the picture to help him and then my new phone froze.  We stood in the way for about 10 minutes to get a family photo.  When we got home, I checked my phone and realized there were 47 new pictures.  This is the best one out of all of those...

Have you picked a word for the year?  How do you stay focused on your word?  I'd love some tips or words of wisdom.